The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has initiated development of Draft Addendum III with the goals of reducing striped bass fishing mortality (F) up to 40% and further protecting spawning stock when it is concentrated and vulnerable. The addendum was initiated in order to allow managers to promptly respond to the results of the stock assessment update in the fall if necessary. Provisions of the addendum, if passed, could be implemented prior to the start of the 2012 fishing year.

The Board’s action responds to recent trends in the fishery and resource, including a 66% decline in estimated recreational catch from 2006 to 2009; a 25% decline in estimated striped bass abundance from 2004 to 2008; and lowered recruitment in recent years. Additionally, states in the northern extent of the fishery have expressed concern over decreased availability of striped bass as a result of the diminished water quality in the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months that may also contribute to increased prevalence of mycobacteriosis in striped bass.

The commercial and recreational fishery is currently managed through Amendment 6 to the Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan. The Amendment, passed in 2003, allocates the coastal commercial quota and set a two fish bag limit and a 28 inch size minimum for the recreational fishery, with the exception of the Chesapeake Bay fisheries, Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River fisheries, and states with approved alternative regulations.

The Draft Addendum will be developed for preliminary review by the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board in August. For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

After obtaining an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Loyola College in Maryland, Captain John McMurray served in the US Coast Guard for four years as a small-boat coxswain and marine-fisheries law enforcement officer. He was then recruited to become the first Executive Director of the Coastal Conservation Association New York. He is currently the Director of Grants Programs at the Norcross Wildlife Foundation in New York. He is the owner and primary operator of “One More Cast” Charters. John is a well known and well published outdoor writer, specializing in fisheries conservation issues. In 2006 John was awarded the Coastal Conservation Association New York Friend of Fisheries Conservation Award.

Its the commercial draggers who tow a net for miles picking up everythibg in its path, then they cull out the pile they just caught throwing overboard all the shorts dead. Its stupid ,they do it with flounder too. keeping only the “legal” sizes throwing all the rest overboard dead.
They should keep everything in the first tow until they reach their weight limit. that way there wouldnt be so much wasted dead fish thrown overboard. Its really just stupid the way they do it. The commercial lobbyists pay the regulators well obviously, Only a crook would defend this fishing practice as good for fish stocks. there’s a simple fix but too much money is passing hands for them to do it the right way.

thousands of stripers have been thrown overboard dead when they were caught up in the draggers nets down in the carolina’s last fall. stocks are down because of that type of thing rather than water quality of the chesapeak. thats a bunch of crap. Guys fishing with poles do nothing to the stocks, they can only take two. the draggers take thousands with each tow sometimes and they are thrown overboard wasted and dead. suits with there hands out making it easier on the draggers and factory fishing boats screw it up for the recreation guys.
herring in alaska is just as bad, they let them take half of all the herring born each season within half an hour with these huge factory boats, same with menhedan, without the bait fish gamefish and bass stocks will do poorly.

Both environmental and animal rights factions have criticized bass fishing in recent years for being both harmful to native species and cruel to the bass themselves. Most bass are no longer caught for sustenance, but simply as a sport, and largemouth bass are generally let go after the catch.`-